Many of our ancestors carried the socialist intellectual virus when emigrating from Europe a century ago.
Many of our ancestors carried the socialist intellectual virus when emigrating from Europe a century ago.
And subsequently brought it down to South Florida, unfortunatly. Thankfully, the Cuban vote down here typically cancels out the left-wing senior citizen Jewish vote down here.
The interesting thing is, that other ethnic groups were on the political (if not the cultural left) when they first came here, but became more "moderate" (read: Mainstream Democrat) by the second generation. Many Polish Catholics (I am half-Polish) helped to elect Socialist Candidates in Milwaukee and Chicago, but moved to the moderate wing of the Dem party within 20 years.
My paisani, on the other hand, have always been swing voters (Wendell Wilkie received 40% of the Italian vote against Roosevelt in 1940), never truly swearing allegiance to either party.
This particular half-breed has lived most of his life in New York, but has the politics of an Idaho backwoodsman. A'int assimilation great!